Russian English Dictionaries:
What's on My Shelf

by Nikita
(Moscow, Russia)

First of all, I must say that I am a professional translator. So my favorite generalist Russian-English-Russian dictionaries may not be the best choice for those who have beginner level knowledge of the Russian or English language.

In the era of the Web, I rely more and more on online dictionaries and Web searching in addition to dictionary software installed on my computer. However, I still depend heavily on my trusty paper dictionaries. I have 40+ of them and don't think that I have enough. By the way, they say that there are about 3,500 Russian-English dictionaries in the world.

Here's a brief rundown of the top 3 new paper-based Russian-English/English-Russian dictionaries that I have bought recently:

1. O.P. Benyukh, Russian-English Comprehensive Dictionary, 1997

The dictionary has over 40,000 lexical entries. It reflects changes that have taken place in Russia since 1985 (the introduction of the free market economy and political changes) and many advances in science and technology in Russia and in the world.

The dictionary is mostly intended for English native speakers who learn Russian or translate into Russian. In addition to the main vocabulary, the dictionary contains Russian names and proverbs, Latin words and expressions, and geographic names. In this dictionary, you will find useful information on the Russian pronunciation and grammar, punctuation rules, numbers and measurements, monetary units, and time zones.


2. M.I. Dubrovin, Современный англо-русский и русско-английский словарь (Sovremennyi anglo-russkii, russko-angliiskii slovar' / Contemporary English-Russian and Russian-English Dictionary), 2009

The dictionary has over 180,000 entries. This is the third edition. The first was in 2004 and the second in 2007. The dictionary reflects up-to-date vocabularies of the Russian and English languages, includes new words and expressions that have not been recorded in other dictionaries.

In my opinion, this dictionary is intended for Russian natives first. In particular, the dictionary seeks to help the Russian audience to understand common English idioms (there are 5,000+ of them in the dictionary). Also, you will find business, socio-political, scientific and technical terminology.

3. A.L. Burak, New Russian-English Dictionary (Новый русско-английский словарь), 2004

The dictionary has 70,000 entries, including 20,000 words and 50,000 usage examples, and differentiates between American and British spelling and usage.

I rarely translate into English, which is a foreign language to me. (I am a native Russian, you know.) However, when I accept such translation assignments this dictionary helps me to cope with nuances of the English language.